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TODAY’S HOLIDAY , he invites us to lift our eyes and meditate on the Queen of all creation: the Virgin Mary. On this day, we can meditate on the words of St. Jose maria: “May God, our Lord, grant that the same faith may burn in our hearts and from our lips a song of thanksgiving, because by, that the Holy Trinity chose Mary as the mother of Christ – she entrusted each of us under her protective cloak, like all of us. She is therefore the Mother of God and our Mother “[1]. The feeling of being protected under her cloak fills us with confidence in adversity and joy in success. We can expect from Mary the Queen her attentive intercession in difficulties and we happily offer her the first fruits of our struggles and love.

However, celebrating Mary’s reign in our lives can also bring us some restlessness. We usually emphasize our freedom and independence rather than emphasize the rule that someone else can have over our lives. Therefore, we can come to believe that in order to maintain a good relationship with our Mother, it is necessary to give up oneself. However, if we think a little deeper, we can realize that just as there is a kind of domination that takes away our freedom, there is another kind of domination that, on the contrary, takes us, it makes us happy and releases the energies that lead us to our best version. It is the dominion of love, with which we open ourselves to the will of another person and which leads us to our own fulfillment.

“We joyfully share the beauty of having Jesus as our king; his lordship of love turns sin into grace, death into resurrection, fear into trust “[2]. The kingdom of Christ means the transformation of our lives: it lifts us up and makes us God’s children. In a sense, it also happened to the Virgin Mary. By accepting to be the Lord’s servant, her existence was completely changed. She did not become smaller, but quite the opposite: with her yes to God’s will, she became God’s Mother and will eventually be the Mother of all Christians. We can ask her to help us say yes to God’s plans, which are much bigger and more ambitious than we can imagine. As Saint Josemaría wrote: “You have never felt as absolutely free as you do now that your freedom is woven out of love and detachment, out of certainty and uncertainty: because you don’t rely on yourself in anything, but on God” in everything.

TO BE IN OUR LIFE it showed Mary’s reign, it is necessary to first cleanse ourselves of everything that could separate us from her. “I will sprinkle clean water on you to cleanse yourself, “announces the prophet Ezekiel, “from all your spots and from all your idols I will cleanse you “(Ez 36, 25). To approach Mary and the dominion of her love means to open ourselves to inner purification so that we are able to receive the graces of her Son without any obstacles.

The term “purification “in terms of worship and liturgy means to purify a person or object so that they are worthy of God. Therefore, the first act of purification in our life is the water of baptism, which brings us from a state of separation from God to God’s son ship. It is beautiful to think that one of the tasks of the Virgin Mary is to purify us so that we are able to maintain our original connection with the Holy Trinity. Sometimes it will be her tears that cleanse us from the wounds of our sins, other times she will pour into our souls the balm of her tenderness when we are most despondent; and in moments of joy she will cleanse us with a mixture of her scents, which give our soul the deep presence of God.

This task of purification requires a daily effort to purify our soul in order to be able to perceive God’s reign. Saint Josemaría once asked one of his sons: “You have a desire to correct yourself, to purify yourself, to mortify yourself, to treat our Lord more, to increase your piety, without theatricality and external things, naturally? “[4]. “Pros the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and your heavenly Mother to allow you to know yourself and cry over the many impure things that have passed through you and left such a big mark behind… – And without closing your eyes to your wretchedness, say to him: Jesus, give me love, which will be like a purifying fire, where my poor body, my poor heart and my poor soul will burn and cleanse themselves of all earthly miseries… And when I am emptied of myself, fill me with yourself: let me cling no more to anything down here; may only Love ” hold me forever.

PURIFICATION it is the first step to be able to enjoy the freedom that the Virgin Mary wants to give us with her reign. When Jesus gave her to us as Mother, he entrusted her with a very specific task: to forge in us a new heart that is able to have the same feelings as her Son. This is how Mary helps us fulfill the prophetic words of Ezekiel in each of us: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my ordinances, keep my sayings, and fulfill them “(Ez 36, 26-27). Isn’t the main task of a good mother to gradually cultivate the sensitivity of her children to enjoy this world and give glory to God?

The reign of the Virgin Mary therefore consists in the fact that she spreads the infinite Love of her Son on the cross all over the world. She learned from him that the true kingdom is not based on privileges or honors. “There is a general, common idea of a king or queen: it would be a person with power and wealth. However, this is not a kind of kingdom of Jesus and Mary. Let us think of the Lord: Christ’s kingdom and royalty is interwoven with humility, service, love: it is above all service, help, love. It is precisely love for us, help in all our needs “[6]. Mary exercises her reign by watching over us and offering us her maternal protection. But in order to receive this love and pass it on to those closest to us, we need a new heart that pulsates with service. The Virgin Mary wants to break the shell of our selfishness, which leads us to close ourselves in, so that we can open ourselves to the graces of her Son and the needs of all people. Like the servants in the parable at the wedding of the king’s son, our Mother never tires of inviting all men and women to discover that only when we try to do God’s will, our existence becomes a great celebration. “I have already prepared the feast, the oxen and fodder cattle are being slaughtered and everything is ready; come to the wedding! “(Mt 22, 4).

We can end this time of prayer by addressing our Mother with a few words of Saint Jose maria: “Saint Mary, Regina apostolorum, Queen of the Apostles, Queen of all those who desire to proclaim the love of your Son: you, who have so much understanding for our wretches, ask forgiveness for our lives; for what could have been fire in us and was only ashes; for the light that stopped enlightening; for salt that has lost its taste “. Mother, help us to have a heart as free and pure as yours.

„ The kingdom of heaven resembles a king who arranged a wedding for his son.“ The effort to experience the Eucharist as heaven on earth will gradually open the gates of eternity for us. Jesus’ parables are immensely rich, and we cannot feel exempt from any of them. No one can say: ,, this parable does not concern me“. Each of them is a direct invitation from the Lord to reevaluate the state of our souls. What we find in today’s Gospel admits many levels of reading, but this time we can focus on one detail: the fact that the king is preparing a feast to celebrate his son’s wedding. Who is this king? God the Father. Who is the son? Of course, Jesus Christ. Who is the bride? Church.

So what is the feast? Holy Mass. 

Every day, just before Holy Communion, we hear from the mouth of the priest: „Behold, the Lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those who are invited to the feast of the Lamb“. These words are a combination of what Saint John the Baptist says to his disciples ( John 1, 29), and what is announced at the end of the Apocalypse: „Blessed are those who are invited to the Lamb’s wedding feast“.

Let us not forget that the Lord tells this parable to the high priests and elders of the people, that is, to people considered pious. Therefore, it is imperative that those of us who try to live the Eucharist daily feel the challenge of these words of Jesus. At each Mass, the Lord expects us to participate in it with the proper dispositions. For if we carry out a sincere examination of conscience, we realize that sometimes we are present in Mass with the body, but our heads are elsewhere: „oni did not heed and went: one to his field, another behind your store“. While the Lamb’s wedding is taking place, we often find ourselves preoccupied with our trivial concerns.

Or we can also be that person who hasn’t put on a wedding garment, either because our outward appearance seems to reveal that we don’t give him the importance he deserves, or because we did not pay enough attention to distant and close preparation of the soul, through frequent confession and daily prayer. In any case, today’s Gospel is an excellent opportunity to rediscover that the Eucharist is a pignuts vitae eternal: the promise of (which is synonymous with the guarantee) of eternal life. Experiencing Mass as it is, like heaven on earth, will be what opens the gates of eternity for us.

A lot could be said about St. Bernard. We could mention his influence on the reform of religious life and, by extension, the reform of the whole Church; we could mention his extensive theological work and the strengthening of Marian veneration in the faithful; we could also say his organizational skills, which he used well. We still draw on Bernard’s work today. At this moment, let’s look at one less critical, but now current area of his life: St. Bernard was a great peacemaker and appeaser of many hostile parties. Yet we know he supported one just war. And so we can remember how it is with tolerating a reasonable just war, or with tolerating evil in general. In these contexts, some people talk about the so-called choice of the lesser evil. You can’t talk like that. We can never vote for any evil, not even the “lesser”one. We can only tolerate and admit evil under certain circumstances.

These are the cases where 1) is the only option, and 2) to prevent even more evil or damage that would most certainly occur without this tolerance. This can be seen well in the example of side effects of drugs: Let’s imagine, for example, some fatal disease that can only be treated with a particular drug, after which a rash develops. We must tolerate this and accept the medicine; otherwise, death would occur as a result of the disease. And so it is also in other cases where we tolerate some evil. This is not a “choice of lesser evil (adverse effects) “. This is only an admission of these side effects.

In no case must it be a tolerance of personal sin as a conscious and voluntary violation of God’s commandment. Instead, it is a tolerance of mere external evils. One should always examine whether there is another third option so that evil does not have to be tolerated at all. It often exists, but it is not immediately obvious or may be uncomfortable. If it exists, it must be used.

Only through confronting oneself with God is it possible to decide on change.

We humans often claim that one person can accomplish nothing. Yes, we sometimes leave each other this way, too. Sometimes it’s resignation, and other times we want to cover up our reluctance or cowardice to do something worth more and necessary, but unpleasant. 

But above all, we can see from the significant and negative figures of the ancient or less ancient past that this is not the case. Lenin. Hitler. Stalin. Gottwald. Mao Zedong. Hussein. Putin. These have brought and are bringing destruction to hundreds of thousands and millions of people. And in a sense, it is about one person. One person can change history.

Today’s Sunday’s first reading is about Jeremiah. Jeremiah, a righteous man and prophet of God, suddenly finds himself in a real mess. This is also why he is sometimes referred to in biblical theology as a type of Christ – persecuted, abandoned, falsely accused, condemned to death, “running deep “– but saved by God. 

However, before he was saved, he, the only one, began to change something with his courage. And he changed history. And not only him, but as we read in the first reading, also Abdelmelech, who was not afraid to stand up for Jeremiah and was receptive to what is just. God is and demands justice!

Today’s second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews no longer tells us about the foreshadowing of Christ, but is about Christ himself. He is the originator and finisher. He is the “archégos “, that is, the one who runs out on the road first, the line for the first time, the one who opens and shows the path of faith – the originator. And there is also “teleiotés “, the finisher, that is, the one who alone can lead to perfection. 

Without Christ, perfection is not. However, the path of the originator and finisher of everything to eternal glory led through the “disgraceful cross”he took upon himself, through pain and rejection. The winner’s wreath cost him a lot, but it was worth it just for him and only for him, “run “, sacrifice.

While events “turn out well “in the first and second readings, the Gospel may not seem like it at all at first. After all, Jesus says in it that he came to throw “fire on the ground “and brought “division “. It is strange that Jesus, the Lord and the giver of peace, as angels announce it to people after his birth, brings fire and division to the world. 

Someone could say that today’s Gospel is like an elephant in porcelain. It creates a mess, confusion, and destroys everything that was once beautiful. That’s a human view. And what is God’s?

Although fire destroys (for example, Sodom and Gomorrah), it also beautifully cleanses and is even a sign of God’s presence as the Holy Spirit. In this context, Jesus says that where there is God’s light and God’s justice, there will undoubtedly be a confrontation of good with the world of evil, justice with injustice, and love with unloved. 

“The Gospel divides and brings restlessness. Well, not by its aggressiveness, but by requiring us to make a clear decision…

Only through confronting oneself with God is it possible to decide on change. Only through looking at love can I discover and admit my dislike as a person, and only through looking at perfection can I admit that I am imperfect and sinful. And that’s when the scorching fire comes that destroys “Sodom and Gomorrah “in me, purifies and makes me open to God. It is possible to reject this fire. It is possible to give it up in advance. Furthermore, it is possible to despise the cross and say that it does not exist. But then I give up the truth, God, and eternity.

Jesus, in words of division, shocking the readers of Scripture for two millennia, clearly says that the Gospel divides and brings unrest. Yes, it divides! Well, not with my aggression, but by requiring a clear decision from us people: am I for Jesus or am I against him? 

And yes, it also brings restlessness, because peace is not peace at any cost or compromise with evil, but peace is always the fruit of truth and justice. And where there is no truth, where there is no justice, there is no peace.

Today’s liturgical readings open two lines for us to think. The first is the realization that the Gospel, justice, and truth should “divide “, not me. But in social, political, family life, and community life, we see that we are people of division. We divide precisely through lies, aggression, injustice, our malice, and our interests. And often quite obviously, making others puppets and tools of their desires and ideas.

The second point is that, even in the context of a meeting in Alaska, the vision is “measure at any price.” Just let there be peace. Just let the war end. Just let the guns die down. If Napoleon had borne the consequences of his political and military actions fairly, the “stodgy empire” and the deaths of several tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians would have been avoided. 

If the powers in Munich did not negotiate “o us without us “and would not give in to one of the greatest mass murderers bit by bit until “netbook “part of Europe, the Second World War did not have to be or could have had a different course. 

If Soviet Russia had not had the same fascist tendencies as Nazi Germany, and Poland had not been divided in the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact, it could have looked different in 1939. 

Suppose in 2014, the world powers had not given in to an aggressive Russia that stole part of the territory of Ukraine and left Crimea to it despite the blatant injustice. In that case, February 24, 2022, would not have been. For peace is where truth and justice are, not where evil recedes in the vision of the false ” “. And we humans still cannot learn from history, and we go through injustice in silence. We couldn’t even do it from the Scriptures.

As long as humans cross borders, convinced that they can, and do not engrave in their hearts the law of love based on truth and justice, which they also follow, it remains necessary for Jesus to bring division in the spirit of today’s Gospel.

Have you ever felt like you were confessing the same sins over and over again?  Did you think, disgusted, because it looks like you’re still struggling with the exact sin mechanism that you’ve gotten bitterly out of? If this is the case, look at God’s relationship with Israel during the period of the judges. God’s people had great difficulty in being faithful to them. Even when God raised judges for them who led them and delivered them from their enemies, they kept returning to the same ways of behavior that, above all, separated them from God. Surrounded by temptation, they lost sight of him. But God did not give them up.O. O.he again sent them judges who protected and guided them, saved them from the consequences of bad decisions when they left the ways of the Lord. God, moved by mercy, sent them a new judge again and again. These judges were the forerunners of Jesus. However, none of them was perfect.

Each of them had its shortcomings, which could make it difficult for God’s people to access the salvation that God offered them fully. Remember Samson, who fell through Dalila’s seduction and lost his strength. Remember the rash promise of Jephthah that led to the death of his daughter. Neither of the judges was the perfect answer. Each of them struggled with some sin or weakness or failure – just like us. When you feel like a hopeless case, tangled in your struggles, take a moment to remember who Jesus is and what He has done for you. He is the perfect Savior and Judge, and he has not given up on you. Even if you don’t see it, he is still with you and offers you his strength and comfort. And when Christ is with you, you can be sure that you are making progress, even if it doesn’t look like it. So don’t hesitate to go to confession. God’s mercy will not fail. He won’t give up on you! Jesus, your perfect redeemer and liberator, is waiting for you, ready to take away the burden of guilt from you and give you more strength to turn away from sin.

I was talking about death the other day. I mentioned what infidels say. They argue that death is to turn into nothing. We were, we will run out of smoke, steam; death is the end of everything. This is what living people say in mortal sin, because they fear and tremble before the judgment of the righteous God, they would like it if death were the end of everything, that’s why they do so, like a child in the dark, they whistle, they sing to conceal their fear. He who lives like an animal does not ask to live even after death. And yet he will live forever, but his eternal life will be an eternal torment! Therefore, it is better to believe that a believer’s heart is a soul than to cast our soul into damnation by unreasonable denial. Every person with common sense believes that he is a soul. Although we cannot see it with our physical eyes, faith teaches us about it, and experience testifies.

There was a famous professor in Budapest. He once dissected a human corpse. In doing so, he spoke to his medical students who were standing by: “You see, I have already dissected several thousand corpses, but my scalpel has not yet found a soul. Look here, now I will cut this body into individual organs and parts, show me where the soul is until I see it, I do not believe. “

Well, let this wise professor of medicine show me his mind until he shows it to me; I don’t believe he has a mind! However, he is right about one thing, namely that there is no soul in a corpse.

We know so much that when a person is conceived in the life of a mother, at that moment God creates a soul for him in his body, and that soul remains in that body until that person dies. When a man dies, his soul comes out of his body; but as the soul comes into the body and as it comes out of it, there is no wise man who can explain it, only God himself knows that. It lies that she is in the body; we see, we experience, because a person lives, moves, talks, cries, laughs, thinks, does, but only as long as his soul is in the body.

The soul is a spirit; we do not see it like the sun; we cannot hear it like the voice of a bell; we cannot smell it like a flower; we cannot catch it like a piece of wood, but we feel it in ourselves, because she loves or hates, rejoices or grieves, moved by her we walk or stand, she speaks and thinks in us.

St. Augustine had a friend named Genadius, a particular doctor. He was a proper, brave, and zealous doctor who treated the poor for free and carefully cared for the sick. His only mistake was doubting whether he had a soul. For his many good deeds, the Lord God granted him the grace to send an angel to him in a dream. Angel started talking to him:

“Genadius, can you see me? – Yes, I see you. – Do you see me with your eyes? – No, because now I’m sleeping. – So how do you see me? – I don’t know. – Do you hear what am I’m saying? – I hear. – Well, do you hear my voice with your ears? – No. – Are you speaking now? – Yes. – You are speaking with your mouth? – No. — Well, behold, you are sleeping now, after all, you see, hear, and speak. So do you already believe that you have a soul? “The doctor woke up and no longer doubted that he was a soul.

Surely man is a strange creature of God; he is in the world like a stone; he grows like a tree; he feels like an animal; he has reason like an angel, and he has a soul like God. As scholars make a sphere similar to our Earth from paper and draw countries on this paper so that we can see the whole world with one look, so also the Lord God, when he created our soul, he drew his image on our soul in a small way, in the soul of a person we can see a strange parable of God himself, because the soul is a spirit similar to God, it lives forever similarly to God, he has reason and free will similarly to God. This is what the words of the Scriptures say: “Then God said: ‘Let us make man in our image and according to our likeness! And God created man in his image. “(Gn 1,26 27). The soul of man has become like the Father in its memory, the Son in its reason, and the Holy Spirit in its will.

The soul lives forever, the Savior Jesus Christ predicted to his disciples that suffering awaits them, martyrdom, but he also encouraged them: “Do not be afraid of those; they kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. “(Mt 10,28). After all, if there were no soul, a person would be cursed worse than the last worm. At least the worm does not feel; it does not understand that it is the last one. A lie for a person is the doubled misery of this life, because he feels and thinks; he feels that the criminals are humiliating him, he sees that he is doing well with a bastard, but he has nothing to put in his mouth. But he hopes he will suffer. Life is short, but the soul is eternal. God repays according to merit.

A better example is the parable of poor Lazarus. Lazarus was a beggar, sleeping in the open air overnight. An ugly illness plagued him; everyone turned away from him, and only the dogs licked his wounds. And this Lazarus died, his troubles came to an end, and angels escorted his soul to Heaven.

The soul has reason, knows the things present, and examines the future. He knows where the world comes from, what God created it for. He believes in God with his soul, longs for Him with his heart, and prays to Him. That is why God gave reason to our souls so that we could understand the preciousness of the soul. Let us consider that the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, not man, not angel, sent us as a redeemer, but He gave Himself for our redemption. The soul has free will. God presents his commands to us, but does not force us to keep them; he leaves it to us, and we decide to do so. God does not do with us like that, stupid Father who had an iron cage made for his mischievous child, locked him in it, gave him food and drink to meet him, it didn’t make you angry. A person with complete freedom does as they please. If they perform well, they will receive retribution; if they perform poorly, they will be fined.

“Before man lies life and death, good and evil: he gets what he likes. “(Sir 15,18). True, the path of sin is easy and wide; it leads to Hell. The path of virtue is difficult and narrow, but it leads to Heaven.

To Sts. Once, two more critical men came to Makário. They begged him to teach them such wisdom that they would benefit from it until death. St. Macarius poured the water into one container and invited those guests to look into it. What do you see in it? – asked them. We see our face reflected in that water. Then St. Macarius threw a piece of mud into the water, confused it, and asked again what they saw in it now. Nothing, – answered him. You speak well. Behold, here is the wisdom of life. If you keep your soul clean from the mud of sins, you will have an image of God himself in it. So live that this dear holy image never fails: that will be your true wisdom.

Saint Jane Frances de Chantal was born on January 28, 1572, in the French city of Dijon to noble and virtuous parents. Her father was Benignus Frémyot, president of the Parliament of Burgundy, and her mother was Marguerite de Berbisey.

Her devout mother died early, leaving three children in her father’s care: Jane, who received the name Frances at confirmation, Marguerite, and Andrew. At the death of her beloved mother, the frail, pious Jane commended herself to the care of the Virgin Mary, sighing: “You be my Mother, since God has called my mother from this earth to Himself!”

Her caring father thus raised his children himself, especially in the holy religion. And Jane repaid him with her piety, innocence, and helpfulness. Even as a child, she was zealous for the holy religion and shamed many a heretic. At that time, the erroneous teaching of John Calvin, who, among other things, denied the presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, infected many lukewarm Christians. Jane was only twelve years old when her father was visited one day by a nobleman who spoke with him about faith and denied the Savior’s presence in the Blessed Sacrament. Johanna was then in the room with her governess and the other children. She ran to the heretic and exclaimed: “Sir, you must believe that Jesus Christ is present in the Blessed Sacrament, because He said so! If you do not believe it, you consider Him a liar.”

Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane Frances de Chantal give their hearts to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

The stranger was astonished by the child’s words and asked Jane more questions, to which she answered decisively and openly. To appease her, he poured candies into her apron. But she ran to the fireplace, dumped all the candies into the fire, and said gravely: “Look, sir, this is how heretics will burn in hell, because they do not believe what the Lord Christ said. If you had said that the king was a liar, my father, as president of the parliament, would have condemned you to death. Since you said that the Savior lied, those two presiding here will condemn you to death!” And she pointed to a painting of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. This event shows us the exceptionally pious nature of Saint Jane even in her youthful age.

In 1592, her father called her to Dijon. As soon as she arrived home, the twenty-year-old Jane had many noble suitors. However, she submitted to her father’s will as to whom he would choose for her as a husband, and he decided on the exemplary Catholic, Baron de Chantal. The saintly maiden prepared for this serious step with prayer, good deeds, and frequent reception of the holy sacraments.

When she married, she excelled in all the virtues of a Christian wife at her castle in Bourbille. Her noble husband entrusted her with the entire household, as he, as a statesman, had to travel very often. Her first concern was that everyone living in the castle should serve God. She kept only devout servants, with whom she prayed. Those who went to work in the fields first attended Holy Mass. On Sundays and holidays, all servants had to go to the parish church, and she taught them holy religion at home. She rose early in the morning and worked tirelessly in the household until evening. She was so thrifty that soon her husband’s property, previously low due to lack of supervision, grew again, and all debts were paid. When her husband was not home, she put away all her ornaments and dressed very simply.

One Sunday, as she was preparing to go to the parish church with her servants and maids, as was her custom, her husband told her that Holy Mass in the castle chapel was just as good as in the parish church, which was three hours away. The devout baroness replied: “There are graces associated with gathering in the church. And nothing is as convincing as example. How can the poor people believe what is proclaimed to them about their duties to God, when we ourselves neglect these duties and do not seek glory in serving such a great and good Lord.”With her savings, she gave generous alms to the poor. As a result of the war, there was great poverty. Saint Jane distributed generous alms, although she herself suffered poverty. The poor came daily through one gate into the castle and left through the other,”so there would be no mess. That’s how she wanted it. However, it often happened that many poor people received alms two or three times, which she herself distributed in the courtyard. When her household pointed this out to her, she said: “It is your duty to tell me this; but it is my duty to give alms to these poor people as many times as they ask me for it.” And she sighed: “My God, I beg incessantly at the door of Your mercy; would I wish that my pleas would not be heard the second and third time? You have suffered my importunity a thousand times, why should I not suffer it from Your creatures?”

She loved her husband with tender affection and tried in every way to sweeten his life with innocent joy, often even shortening her devotions to shorten his time in their solitude with her cheerful disposition. When he was ill, she nursed him carefully and persistently herself. She lived in a happy marriage for eight years when God visited her to lead her to higher perfection through suffering. One day, her husband went hunting with his relative and friend. He positioned himself in a thicket. Meanwhile, his cousin pursued a deer from the other side. When he came to the thicket, something moved. He thought it was the deer and fired… Baron de Chantal lay in his blood.

The gravely wounded Baron exclaimed: “I am dying. My friend, I forgive you, for this misfortune happened due to carelessness.” He immediately sent four servants to various parishes for a priest to come to him as soon as possible and administer the last rites to the dying man. He sent a fifth servant to his wife with the words: “Do not tell her that I am mortally wounded, but only that I have been shot.” The servant informed the Baroness as his master had instructed him. The saint sighed: “Oh, they want to gild this bitter pill for me!” And she immediately ran to the scene of the accident.

When her wounded husband saw her, he said: “My friend, God’s judgment is just.” After he confessed and comforted his cousin who had shot him, the poor wife’s grief was so great that she cried out to heaven: “Lord, take everything I have on earth: relatives, possessions, and children, just leave me this good husband whom You have granted me!” But all was in vain. Her beloved virtuous husband died nine days later, and St. Jane remained a widow. She mourned his premature death with her three daughters and one son.

The twenty-eight-year-old widow bore her bitter fate with resignation to God’s will and repeated the words: “God does everything in His mercy!” And she gave away her festive clothes, dressed in mourning, and wanted to wear them until her death. She decided to dedicate herself entirely to God’s service. She devoted her time to raising her children, household chores, the poor, and the sick.

At her father-in-law’s request, she moved with her children to live with him in Mouthelon. She lived there for seven and a half years, and during this period, she had to endure the slights and extravagance of a proud girl who had completely captivated her elderly father-in-law, Baron de Chantal. The holy widow patiently endured everything and overcame it through work and prayer. She often prayed for God to send her a guide who would lead her on the path to perfection. And merciful God heard her fervent plea.